Breastfeeding & Working Out/Losing Weight

I have been working out for an hour a day 4-5 times a week. 30ish minutes of cardio & the rest lifting weights. I am BF a 6 month old, and just wondering about calorie intake. How much should I be eating? I am trying to lose weight, and PT keeps trying to talk me into supplements. I have protein shakes, but refuse to take any sort of fat burner while BF. Any BF gym mamas please let me know! I am trying to lose baby weight and keep supply & health up for daughter.

Re: Breastfeeding & Working Out/Losing Weight

Definitely don't take a fat burner. Personally I would not take any sort of supplement. They are not regulated and often contain stuff that may not be listed on the label - I think the risk is too high that you could be passing on something into your milk that would not be good for baby. The key is just to go slow with the weight loss - a pound or two per week at most. That's going to mean a different number of calories for different mothers. Remember it took 9 months to put on the baby weight so it takes time to come off! Your exercise routine sounds really healthy and of course you want to try to eat healthy too.

Re: Breastfeeding & Working Out/Losing Weight

Not only could the supplements contain something that's no good for your baby, but they could also contain something that's not good for your supply. A lot of weight loss supplements contain lots of caffeine, because it's a diuretic- that is, it makes you pee a lot, which means less water in your body, making you lighter when you step on the scale. But less water in your body- not great for making milk!

There's a really good book out there called "Eat Well, Lose Weight, While Breastfeeding." I think Eileen Behan is the author. Definitely worth a look!

Re: Breastfeeding & Working Out/Losing Weight

awesome I will check it out! I am really against the whole supplement thing in general. Even not BF. I was a gymnast for 15 years & NEVER took a supplement & was in excellent shape. Personal Trainers are always peddling the supplements and it annoys the crap out of me! I am just stuck at a point where I am gaining instead of losing weight, even though I am gaining muscle, I know I need to eat better.

Re: Breastfeeding & Working Out/Losing Weight

Keep a diary or log of what you eat and then use that to trouble shoot any less nutritious foods you could swap out, cut out or decrease. Really when you're breastfeeding and working out you need to eat. I run marathons and ultras and I eat. I have to eat and it's hard when you have baby wt to lose (I'm there right now with 7 week old twins) but really you need to feed yourself. I'm avoiding desserts and making sure I exercise 6 days/week. Nothing too drastic but I'm losing the wt.